Bromley Buzz: From the "worst team in Britain" to the brink of the Football League

Words: Tom Stanworth

Images: Tom Stanworth

Having grown up near Bromley, things I’ve long associated with the area include The Glades shopping centre, the 314 bus, Scruffy Murphy’s pub, Christmas pantos at Churchill Theatre, and the Art Deco cinema where I watched Trainspotting.

Something that I’ve only recently begun to associate with Bromley is a decent football team.

The book and film “The Bromley Boys” depict Bromley FC in season 1969/70 as “the worst football team in Britain” who are saved from extinction only by a last gasp goal from Alan “Stoney” Stonebridge in the last game of the season.

Fast forward 54 years and the Ravens are second in the National League, it’s Michael “Cheeky” Cheek banging in the goals, and attendances at their Hayes Lane stadium are on the up.

The club’s ambitious Project 30,000 initiative – which sets out to achieve a total of 30,000 fans attending the remaining nine home league games of the season to help cheer them to promotion – is clearly getting traction.

Tom Stanworth/ Terrace Edition. Bromley FC.

Ahead of today’s game with Boreham Wood, Broomfields bar & restaurant within the ground is noticeably busier than usual.

The new bring a friend for a fiver policy has clearly had an impact according to a long-standing season ticket holder, while the 4-4-2 offer (tickets for four of the remaining games for the price of two) has proven attractive to a disillusioned Charlton fan among others.

While the attendance of 2,744 is below the run-rate for 30,000, it’s significantly above the season average of c.2,400.

On big occasions there’s potential to get close to the ground’s capacity of 5,150 judging by the sellout crowd for the league game with Wrexham in March 2023, and the 4,000+ attendance for the FA Trophy semi-final win over York City in April 2022 en route to winning the competition for the first time in the club’s history.

Even to an occasional match goer, it’s clear that this is a thriving family-oriented club with a close bond between fans, players and staff. There’s an unusual level of interaction between them, such as the players passing through Broomfields on the way to the dressing room before the game, and the sponsors’ Man of the Match returning there to be interviewed and sign autographs afterwards.

Hayes Lane is an unorthodox ground. As you approach after turning off the main road, the adjacent fields with horses, ponies, goats and geese give it a rural feel.

The ground consists mostly of low-rise terraces, with clearances frequently flying over the East Terrace (for which there are redevelopment plans in the pipeline) onto the cricket ground beyond.

The modern all-seater Glyn Beverly stand behind one goal tends to be populated by families with children, which reflects the club’s major focus on its youth teams. While the old-style North Terrace behind the other goal is where the more vocal fans congregate, including those in their teens and twenties who make up a sizeable proportion of the club’s away support, along with older fans who witnessed Bromley’s promotions from the Isthmian League in 2006/07 and National League South in 2014/15.

In typical non-league style, there’s always plenty of movement between each end depending on which way Bromley are shooting.

With runaway National League leaders Chesterfield unlikely to be caught for the single automatic promotion place, finishing second or third is the realistic aim for Bromley. This would mean they would avoid the playoff quarter finals and skip straight to a home semi-final in late April.

On a day where the non-league schedule was decimated by frozen pitches (only three other National League fixtures went ahead), the game vs Boreham Wood was never in doubt due to Bromley’s artificial pitch.

But should they get promoted to League Two, Football League regulations will require them to replace the 3G surface with grass, as Sutton Utd did following their promotion in 2021.

Lee Ndlovu is in the starting lineup for Boreham Wood. His name reminds me of playing Championship Manager for too many seasons in the 90s and reaching the point where new players are generated and unusual surnames get recycled. He’s a decent striker who scored a belter in this fixture last season but lacks the silky skills of his ex-Coventry City namesake Peter.

The away side start the game strongly and are all over Bromley - belying their mid-table league position - and deservedly take the lead.

The Ravens then equalise instantly through a long-range screamer from attacking midfielder Corey Whitely against his former club.

They then settle into the game and are largely in control in the second half, taking the lead through defender and Man of the Match Callum Reynolds. Bromley thought they’d put the game to bed with a third through Cheek, but it was chalked off for handball in the buildup, and subsequently came under late pressure which eventually told.

Prior to The Wood’s 88th minute equaliser the North Terrace sings:

“…We’re FA Trophy winners

In 2022

I know you won’t believe us

But we’re going to League Two”

Whether or not you believe them, one thing’s for sure – Bromley are in with a great chance and that, in itself, is a remarkable thing.